A Celebration of the Resurrection and
Service of Thanksgiving for the life of ________________
Date of Birth–Date of Death
Location
Date of Funeral/Memorial Service
Personal Meditation
Sample: John 11:25
“Jesus said, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life; the one who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.'”
The following includes bulletin information for a funeral or memorial service, accompanied by a sample order of worship, followed by an actual service with multiple liturgical elements that you can adopt or adapt as you see fit.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Sample Order of Worship
Welcome Officiant
* Hymn #1 (Sample) Be Thou My Vision
Old Testament Reading(s)
New Testament Reading(s)
Optional: A Time for Remembering (Invite pre-selected guests or anyone present to share a memory of the deceased)
Optional: Special Music
* Hymn of Thanksgiving
Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord’s Prayer * (Said in unison together)
Commendation
Committal
Closing Hymn
Order of Worship
Welcome Officiant
Call to Worship (Sample)
Leader: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
People: One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the delight of the Lord.
Leader: For in the day of trouble he shall hide me in his shelter; in the shadow of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
People: And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me. I will offer sacrifices of joy. I will sing; yea, I will sing praises to the Lord.
or
Prayer of Invocation (Sample)
God who creates and re-creates us,
God who laughs with us and weeps with us,
God who walks with us each step of the way, carrying us when our strength fails,
we gather today with hearts breaking with grief, with voices crying out words of lament.
And so we ask that you would move in and around us today.
As we gather to remember and say good bye to [Name]
be the shoulder we can cry on, the arm we can lean on,
help us to see through the veil of tears that there is hope
for life continuing.
Gracious God, as mysterious and wondrous as you are,
you are also a compassionate God,
as attentive as a hen with her chicks,
as tender as a mother with a newborn child,
as watchful as a shepherd with the sheep,
as protective as a father’s warm embrace.
and so we come into your presence to grieve [Name]’s death,
asking that your Holy Spirit would be here to ease our pain.
As we give thanks for all that he/she added to the lives of those around him/her,
as we release our tears and anger,
as we say our good-byes, remind us that we are not alone.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Gord Waldie
* Hymn #1 (Sample) Be Thou My Vision
Old Testament Reading(s) (Sample) Job 19:23-27, Psalm 23
New Testament Reading(s) (Sample) John 14:1-6, 1 Peter 4:10-11
Optional: A Time for Remembering (Invite pre-selected guests or anyone present to share a memory of the deceased)
Optional: Special Music
Sermon or Meditation (Sample Title: Goodbye to a Servant)
* Hymn of Thanksgiving (Sample) Be Still My Soul”
Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Sample) O God, before whom generations rise and pass away, we thank you for all your servants who, having lived this life in faith, now live eternally with you. Especially we thank you for [Name], for the gift of his/her life, his/her life kindness, patience, and wisdom. We give thanks for all treasured moments and events, which he/she shared with his/her family and friends, making this world richer and brighter for her presence. Give us faith, we pray O God, to see beyond touch and sight some aspect of what life is like with you. And where our vision fails, may we trust your love, which never fails. (After the Prayer of Thanksgiving, the Officiant transitions to saying of Lord’s Prayer)
or
(sample)
*Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us all with the gift of this earthly life
and has given to our brother/sister [Name]
his/her span of years and gifts of character.
God our Father, we thank you now for all his/her life,
for every memory of love and joy,
for every good deed done by him/her
and every sorrow shared with us.
We thank you for his/her life and for his/her death,
we thank you for the rest in Christ he/she now enjoys,
we thank you for giving him/her to us,
we thank you for the glory we shall share together.
Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(After the Prayer of Thanksgiving, the Officiant transitions to saying of Lord’s Prayer)
The Lord’s Prayer * (Said in unison together)
Commendation
(Sample) Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant [Name]. Acknowledge, we humbly pray, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him/her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.
Committal
Lord Jesus Christ,
by your own three days in the tomb,
you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you
and so made the grave a sign of hope
that promises resurrection
even as it claims our mortal bodies.
Grant that our brother/sister may sleep here in peace
until you awaken him/her to glory,
for you are the resurrection and the life.
Then he/she will see you face to face
and in your light will see light
and know the splendor of God,
for you live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
Trusting in God, we have prayed together for [Name] and now we come to the last farewell. Although this congregation will disperse in sorrow, the mercy of God will gather us together again in the joy of his kingdom. Therefore let us console one another in the faith of Jesus Christ.
*Please Stand
Closing Hymn (Sample) It is Well With My Soul
*Benediction